The End of the Line
by FriendlyBomber
Summary: Stranded on an expedition to retake Wall Maria, Erwin and Levi realize that this really could be the end of the line. Rated T for language. Slight Eruri if you squint and turn your head to the side.


Well, this was it. There was no way they were going to survive this one. They were out of gas. Their swords were all lost or broken. They were half a kilometer away from any other person. Their horses were dead. Three titans lay slain around them, but more would surely be there any minute.

Erwin was frantically searching his person for his flare gun, but Levi was standing calmly, eyeing the giant steaming bodies. He kicked at the one closest. It burned at his boot with a hot sizzling noise. The smell of burning leather drifted up. He backed away towards Erwin.

"I don't have it," said Erwin. "I must have dropped it somewhere. Where is yours? Levi, where is your flare gun?"  
"Gone. My horse crushed it when he fell. It won't work now," said Levi.

"We have to try it," said Erwin. "It's our last chance. Assuming the formation is still intact, the south right flank will be able to see the flare and rescue us."

"And if it is broken?"

"We fought well."

Erwin hustled over to the carcass of Levi's horse. Crouching down in front of it, he moved a mangled leg to the side and placed his hand on the horse's ribcage. Gritting his teeth, he pushed against the body, but it would not budge. Sweat ran in droplets down his face. Levi stood watching with his arms crossed coolly, not moving to help his friend.

Erwin paused in his efforts and looked over his shoulder at Levi. He wiped sweat from his eyes. "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Put your back into it."

"Levi, please. Do you want to die out here?"

Levi stalked over and sat down next to the horse's ribcage. His face was down turned. He seemed fascinated by his partially melted boot.

"Erwin, this is really it. Trying your damnest to move that horse isn't going to save us."

Erwin exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He flipped around so he also sat leaning against the horse.

"We have a few options. We could make a dash for the direction the south right flank is heading and try to catch them before they get too far away, but without 3D Maneuvering Gear or horses we will never get there in time. We could try calling for them, but our voices would attract titans before they even heard us. We could try to find the flare gun and see if it is salvageable. Or we could sit here and wait for the inevitable. If we take action, we must do so quickly."

Levi was silent for a moment. "Let's move this horse. Might as well put my last hope in a broken gun and a damn madman with one arm."

Erwin grinned at his friend and moved into position to push the horse again. "I could move this horse if I had my other arm still. On the count of three." Levi mirrored Erwin's position and placed both hands on the horse. "One... two... three."

The two men grunted and pushed with all their strength on the horse's side. Veins popped out on their necks and sweat leaked into their eyes and down their necks, but the horse slowly began to budge. Encouraged, the gritted their teeth and pushed harder. Finally, will a heavy thump, the horse rolled over on its other side. The two men, gasping for breath, examined the debris that had been crushed under the dead horse. A few broken swords; a water bottle; crushed pieces of the flare gun. Erwin picked them up and inspected them

"I have flares. If we could somehow put these back together..."

"Erwin. There's no way."

"There's always a way."

"Erwin, listen to me. That flare gun is destroyed. The pieces are so tiny that you could never put them back together. The south right flank would be long gone by the time you managed to even get started. Stop wasting your energy on this foolish plan! There is nothing we can do but start walking in the direction the formation was going and hope the titans are all distracted by them."

Erwin clutched the shattered flare gun in his hands, not looking at Levi. "No, there's no point. You're right. We'll be dead before the formation stops anyway. If they turn back, they will pass through here. I hope we don't survive. If we survive humanity suffers another defeat."

Levi put his hand on Erwin's shoulder. "It isn't as if we weren't prepared to die. I thought we'd be dead a long time ago."

Erwin barked a short, humorless chuckle. "I did too. To think I'd survive losing my arm only to die a few months later."

They were silent. They sat against the horse's back, eyes closed, waiting. They listened for the sound of approaching thunderous footfalls, but there were none. It was eerily quiet.

"Why haven't the titans come yet?" wondered Levi.

"I don't know," said Erwin. "They must be all chasing the formation."

"Something isn't right," said Levi. He looked into the distance as if the answer were there. "It will be sunset soon. Perhaps we will survive the night."

"That would be some luck," said Erwin. They sat in another brief spell of silence. The sky was turning periwinkle. "We're dead men. Ought to get all our secrets out now before we lie with them forever."

"Be my guest," said Levi.

Erwin nodded and sat quietly as if composing his thoughts. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, but changed his mind before sound could come out. Finally, he clenched his fist and looked directly into Levi's eyes.

"Levi, I have trusted you for years, I hope you know that," started Erwin. "I don't think I have ever trusted someone more than I have you. I want you to know that I would give my life for you. You are my closest friend."

"That's touching, Erwin."

"I'm not done. I never married. I knew it was foolish, as death was always around the corner. I knew letting people get close was foolish. But... you have made me see how wrong I was. I am so thankful to have called you my friend. You gave me something to fight for. I wanted to live in a world where I could no longer fear losing my friends- losing you... I fought for that world. I fought for you. I fought for you this whole time, and I will fight for you until I draw my last breath. You are... the reason I live."

Levi stared at him, his mouth gaping. He unceremoniously yanked at his cravat. "That's, uh, that's really, uh... shit. I was just gonna say I'm self-conscious about my height. But you... you've really got me beat." He cleared his throat to get it back into its normal octave. "I mean, thank you. I... thank you, Erwin. I am glad to call you my friend too. Without you, I'd probably have died in a pool of my own shit and blood down Below. But here I am, dying in a pile of my horse's shit and your blood."

Erwin laughed. He had known Levi long enough to be able to translate that into, "You saved me. You are my only friend. You gave my life purpose. I cannot express how grateful I am for all that you have done. I am proud to die next to someone as noble as you."

"The sun is setting. If we are going to die, it will be in the next ten minutes," said Erwin in his "commander voice", as Levi called it. Any traces of their previous conversation disappeared into the wind. "The titans won't be so active after dark."

"Come what may," said Levi. Erwin reached his arm across his chest to grab Levi's hand. To his surprise, he didn't pull away.

"Levi..." murmured Erwin.

Levi stiffened. "Wait. Listen."

Erwin held his breath and strained his ears to listen. There, in the distance, was that...?

"Horses. They turned back. They failed," said Erwin grimly. A stone settled in his stomach. He dropped Levi's hand.

"Oh well," sighed Levi, standing. "Not that we expected any less."

"Another failed attempt to retake Wall Maria," said Erwin, shaking his head. Levi helped him to his feet. "Do you see them?"

"They're coming up over a hill. They'll be here in a few minutes."

The two men stood there and waited. Sure enough, not five minutes later, a squad of horses skittered to a stop in front of them. Hanji beamed down at them.

"You're still alive! We could've used you. Why didn't you send a flare signal?"

"Our flare guns are gone. Do you have extra horses?" said Erwin. Two horses were led forward. Levi and Erwin climbed on.

When they had gotten settled, Hanji said, "Alright! I'll tell you what happened as we ride. Let's go! Back to Wall Rose!"

The squad kicked off, heading back towards the wall as the sun sank below the horizon. Well, that was it. They were safe. For now.


End file.
